Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta in 'Gladiator II'

Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place: Day One) is in charge of playing the Emperor Geta, one of the two antagonistic roles of Gladiator 2the long-awaited sequel set several decades after the events of the acclaimed Gladiator of Ridley Scottwho returns as director.

The other villain is played by Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) as Emperor Caracalla. Quinn and Hechinger bring these bloodthirsty twins to life as they engage in colossal battles in the Roman Colosseum.

It is precisely Quinn that we see in one of the most recent images shared by Paramount Pictures as part of the marketing campaign for Gladiator 2.

On his role as the villain, Quinn told Empire Magazine that he had in mind Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiatoralthough the greatest inspirations for both him and Hechinger were Philip Seymour Hoffman and its role in Mission: Impossible IIIy Gary Oldman with his interpretation in The Fifth Element:

“For obvious reasons, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was something we had in mind. It was something we had a reverence for, but we didn’t want to… sully it with any kind of misinterpretation.”

“Gary Oldman in The Fifth Element! He has this taste for being horrible.”

Scott added about the Twin Emperors:

“They are probably the equivalent of Romulus and Remus. You know, the two lunatics who formed Rome but were raised on the milk of a she-wolf. [Caracalla y Geta] They came out in a different way, but they probably had brain damage.”

The protagonist Paul Mescal (Aftersun, Normal People, All of Us Strangers) plays the adult version of Lucius, a role played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original installment.

The sequel Gladiator II It takes place two decades after the events of the first film in ancient Rome; It focuses on Lucius (Mescal), grandson of the former Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and now adult son of the Emperor Commodus.who resides with his family in Numidia. After ending up in slavery following an invasion led by the Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucius wants his own revenge story and competes as a gladiator after being inspired by the exploits of Maximus (Russell Crowe) as a child.

As seen in the first official trailer shared in recent weeks, some of the action-packed scenes involve Mescal inside the Colosseum ready to take on a rhinoceros.

The rest of the great cast is made up of Denzel Washington, Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Matt Lucas (Wonka), and the returns of Connie Nielsen like Lucilla, and that of Sir Derek Jacobi like Gracchus

Gladiator (2000) from Scott, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, followed the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), a former general who is forced to be a common gladiator under the rule of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), a self-proclaimed patricide emperor of Rome.

SYNOPSIS:

“From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue and revenge set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now rule Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and ​​honor to restore the glory of Rome to its people.”

David Scarpa write the script for Gladiator 2marking a new collaboration with Scott, after having written the script for All the Money in the World.

Scott directs and produces the sequel launched in November 2018. Michael Pruss is also a producer, along with Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are executive producers.

Several members of the original film's behind-the-scenes crew have returned to work on the sequel, including director of photography John Matieson, while Arthur Max and Janty Yates return to production design and costume design, respectively.

Paramount set the release date for Gladiator 2 by November 22, 2024.